


Misunderstandings

by MarriedPhan1234



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: AU, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coming Out, Crying, Fluff, Happy Ending, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Past Abuse, Teenagers, mention of conversion therapy, tw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 16:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13170621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarriedPhan1234/pseuds/MarriedPhan1234
Summary: Is Dan's mum homophobic, or was it all just a big misunderstanding?





	Misunderstandings

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this pretty quickly but really wanted to post it, so I hope it's not terrible lol. Let me know what you think!

Dan buttoned the last few buttons of his shirt and looked himself over in the mirror. Phil would be arriving to pick him up for their first proper date any minute now, and Dan wanted everything to be perfect, especially his unruly curly hair. He'd only recently stopped straightening it everyday and hadn't quite figured out how to style it yet, but Phil claimed to love his new look, so there was no going back now.

Dan's mum walked past his room and stopped to take a better look at her son. “Well, don't you look handsome. Going on a hot date tonight?” she joked, and Dan almost wished he had locked his door before getting ready.

It was a simple question, but he still hesitated. Was he really ready to come out to his mother right now? That seemed kind of sudden to him. But then again, she would have to find out eventually, right? And there's no time like the present. 

“Actually, yes.” He smiled at her and she stepped fully into his room then and sat on his bed.

“With anyone I know?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. 

She put her finger on her chin and hummed. “Have I known them a long time?” she asked.

Dan nodded his head, “Pretty much my whole life.”

Dan watched as his mother's smile faded and his stomach dropped. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. “Oh, no. Dan, please tell me it's not who I'm thinking of,” she said, and she didn't sound or look angry, just hurt and kind of sad.

His heart was racing. “Would you be disappointed if it was?” he asked. 

She took a deep breath and Dan chewed on his lower lip in preparation for what was to come. “Yes, I would be very disappointed. Honestly, these kinds of relationships, they just don't work out, Dan. I think you're making a terrible mistake.” 

She wasn't shouting, so that was good. But she did sound genuinely disappointed in him, and Dan could hardly stand that. He almost would have preferred being shouted at to this. 

“I didn't know you felt this strongly about it, mum,” Dan answered, but he wondered if she'd even heard him. His throat was tight with emotion, a lump forming, threatening to make him cry. Although, he really hadn't known her views on things like marriage equality as it had, surprisingly, never come up between them.

“Of course I feel strongly about it, Daniel. You're my son and if I see you walking into a mistake, I have to speak up. How could you possibly think I would approve of you being with someone so, so… wrong. It's just wrong and you know it.” She was getting more worked up by the moment. Before too much longer, she would be shouting. 

He felt a single tear make its way down his cheek and he took a shaky breath. “Mum, I can't help how I feel. I just- I just want to be happy and-”

“But, you can't be happy like this. I know you, and I know that if you do this, you will be miserable. Maybe things will seem good at first, and you'll think you're happy, but it won't be that way for long. Relationships like this, they simply don't work out. And do you know why? Because they're wrong. Because one or both people in the relationship are sick and toxic and, and… And I can't support this. I will not support you in this relationship, Dan. And that's that.”

Dan stared at his mother, his mouth hanging open and tears making their way down his face. Where could he even begin to stand up for himself? She doesn't think they can be happy, for reasons that are simply false. She thinks his relationship is doomed to fail, again for no real reason. But even worse, she thinks that gay people are sick and toxic. She didn't even finish that thought, but Dan can guess what she meant. She meant that they're all mental and need psychotherapy. 

He was shaking all over, from anger and fear and disgust and a million other emotions that were streaming through him. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and was relieved to see Phil step through his doorway.

“Hey, Dan, I-” he stopped, noticing a very solemn looking Mrs. Howell and a crying Dan. “Uh, Mr. Howell told me to come on up. Should I wait downstairs?” he asked, nervously glancing between the two of them.

Dan shook his head and pulled himself together as best he could. He grabbed his jacket from his desk chair and turned to his mother. “I never assumed you to be a homophobic piece of garbage, but clearly I was wrong. But you won't have to worry about supporting me or my relationship anymore. I'll find somewhere else to live, and don't be surprised if I never come back,” he spat, and turned to grab Phil's hand.

“What- homophobic? What on Earth are you talking about?” his mother shouted.

“All that shit you just said! You said that me and Phil are sick and wrong, and that we'll never be happy,” Dan said. He was shaking again, but Phil wrapped his arms around him, essentially holding him upright, as he stared in shock at Dan's mother.

Mrs. Howell finally pieced it all together. She and Dan had been talking about two different people this entire conversation, and… yeah, she looked pretty bad right now.

“You and Phil? You're going on a date with Phil?” She asked, completely dumbfounded.  
“Who the hell else, mum?!” Dan shouted. He was trembling and scared. What would she do to them now?

“Oh, God. Dan, I thought you were saying that you'd gotten back together with Minnie!” she said. 

Dan blinked, unable to fathom what was happening right now. “What?” 

“All that stuff I said, it was about her. I wasn't going to support you being with her. She treated you terribly, Dan, and I thought that she'd manipulated you into dating her again.” She covered her face with her hands. “Oh my God, all the things I said, I must have sounded so awful. I meant that she's sick, that she needs mental help for being so manipulative and abusive.” 

Well, that did make more sense. Minnie had lied to him, cheated on him, among other things. He wouldn't blame his mother for being disappointed in him if he decided to give her another chance. He stared at her, not sure what else to say, when suddenly she gasped.

“You thought I would be disappointed in you?” she asked. She looked completely heartbroken, her eyes becoming glossy with tears.

Dan wiped his face but couldn't stop the fresh tears that spilled from his eyes. “I didn't know,” he shrugged. 

She stood and made her way over to the boys, Phil letting go of Dan so that she could wrap him up in her arms, practically hugging the life out of him. Dan sobbed against her shoulder, clinging to his mother. “No, my love. I'm not disappointed or upset, not even a little bit. In fact, I'm so proud of you. I know that Phil is a wonderful young man and that you will be good to each other. And I will always support you being with someone that treats you how you deserve to be treated.”

“You-you're not going t-to send me away to so-some awful place to fix me, like in the m-movies?” Dan asked, his ragged breathing making it difficult to speak.

“Oh, my baby, no! Never. There is nothing wrong with you, nothing at all. I only said that because Minnie… she needs counseling. People like that, who are abusive and awful to the people they claim to love, they are the ones who are sick. Not you and Phil.” She held him tight and swayed them slowly, letting him cry.

“I was so scared,” he finally croaked, burying his nose into her collar bone.

“I'm so sorry, Dan. I'm sorry I made you feel this way.” She continued to rub his back, whispering apologies and assuring him that he truly had nothing to worry about. Phil made a quick run to the bathroom for some tissues for the both of them, but mostly stayed quiet, letting them have their moment.

When Dan finally pulled away, his face was red and tear stained and his shirt was crumpled, but he felt a little better. His mother felt just awful. She'd ruined their date night, as well as made her own son think that she didn't approve of who he was. 

“Phil, why don't you ask your mother if you can stay the night tonight? I've ruined your date, the least I can offer you is some time alone with each other,” she reasoned.

“Are you sure? I mean, he is my boyfriend, after all,” Dan said with a sad chuckle.

“I'm sure. You've been having sleepovers since you were little. I'm sure that whatever is bound to happen, has already happened,” she said with a cheeky grin.

“Oh my God, mum,” Dan grumbled with a blush.

She pulled him in for one last squeeze and said, “I'm just so glad that you're happy.”

Dan giggled. “And I'm glad that you're not actually a homophobe.”

She shook her head fondly at him and walked out of his room. Dan heaved a sigh of relief and fell into Phil's open arms.

“I didn't realize you were planning to come out to your parents today. I would have been here to help if you had told me,” Phil said.

“I wasn't really planning to, it just kind of happened,” Dan said. He leaned back to look at Phil, but kept him close. “Do you still feel like going out?”

Phil pushed Dan's frizzy fringe back and smiled at him. “How about we stay in tonight? Your mum may change her mind about sleepovers next week, and I wouldn't want to miss a single moment with you in your bed,” Phil said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, causing them both to burst into giggles. In on honestly, they hadn't done all that much together in Dan's bed. Just some cuddling and kissing and lots of touching and… so maybe they had done quite a bit. 

But he supposed Phil was right. It was time to start living like every sleepover was their last. And he was all for it.

**Author's Note:**

> You could follow me on tumblr if you want, erinnnyeahhh.tumblr.com


End file.
